Marriage and Leadership Seminar held in Lusaka, Zambia

INTRODUCTION

The Bear Valley Bible Institute – Lusaka, wishes to express its heartfelt gratitude to our supporting brothers and sisters in the Lord for the establishment of the Bible training school in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. In this regard, the college pledges to uphold the mission of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of growing the church of our Lord Jesus Christ spiritually and numerically in Lusaka and Zambia as a whole.

 SCHOOL CALENDAR

Following the lifting up of the suspension of all universities, colleges, and schools by the Government, which were closed due to the increased cases of Covid 19 recorded on daily basis, the Bear Valley Bible Institute – Lusaka, commenced its learning program on January 29, 2022. The courses covered in the first quarter of the year 2022 are:

1.    The History of the Old Testament

2.    The Scheme of Redemption

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

At the moment, the number of regular students attending Saturday classes as of 31st March 2022 was fifteen (15).

Marriage Seminar

The Bear Valley Bible Institute – Lusaka hosted a two-day Marriage and Leadership Seminar which was conducted by Bro. Mark Reynolds and Brother Norman Light on 11 – 12 March 2022.

The seminar was attended by the students and the general church membership from the sister congregations based in Lusaka.

Thank you to the visiting brothers for the seminar presentations and for taking part in the worship service at Central Church of Christ on Sunday, March 13, 2022.

CHURCH PLANTING MISSION

Having been in existence and learning for six months now, the school intends to get into an outreach program by planting and maturing one church this coming Easter holiday (15 – 17 April, 2022).

RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to broaden the scope of research and also by taking advantage of the room space for the library, we request for the assorted biblical materials. This will also help the students with no access to the internet to undertake their research assignments within the premises of the school.

Door-to-Door and Soul-to-Soul Campaign in Arusha

ACSOP REPORTS OF MARCH, 2022 

This month of March is one of the busy months for the ACSOP staff, especially those who serve as instructors in under and post-graduate programs. We had a master’s class (New Testament Theology & Homiletics) on March 7 – 18 which was taught by Jerry Bates. In that class we had 13 students attend while more than 5 missed because of various reasons. 

The first quarter of studies here in ACSOP for undergraduate students is impressive. Our teachers are working harder and harder to impart to these fellows the knowledge of God’s word. They are doing exactly what Paul’s letter to Timothy instructs, "The things which you have heard from me...entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). The first-year students are showing a great improvement in their studies. Different from the last 3 weeks in which we had some who were struggling to cope with their studies but now the majority of them are catching up.  As we speak now we have a total number of 24 students in that class whom we think are the best men we would like to have in ACSOP because of their great effort in their studies and Christ-like manners.      

 We greatly thank our dearest brother Daniel Gaines for his arrival from the US to Tanzania to teach a short course on Denominational Doctrines, which he did from March 28 through April 1.  Before teaching that short course, he was also able to lead our 13 second-year students in the door-to-door, soul-to-soul evangelism campaign from Monday of 21st March through Friday 25th at the Meserani area in Arusha. Through that effort, the following is the report of what they were able to accomplish. Forty new classes were created, five different topics were taught; 

1.      Authority of the Bible 

2.      Church of Christ 

3.      Salvation (this includes Hearing, Believing, Repentance, Confession, and Baptism)

4.      God’s final judgment. 

5.      Difference between Old Testament and New Testament.

This was of the most successful campaigns because;

1.      Biblical teachings were taught to many.

2.      Tracks were distributed to many people.

3.      Many questions were answered biblically.

4.      The true church (church of Christ) was known to many people. 

Besides the above token, on the 4th of April, the ACSOP will begin the 2nd quarter for both first and second-year classes before they depart for the holiday on May 28 – August 6, 2022. Let’s remember these faithful fellows in our daily prayers, giving thanks to God for the great heart of loving the Lord and for coming here to study the Word so that they can go back to their homes to teach others.

In His Service,

Losotwa Michael

Dean of Academics, Andrew Connally School of Preaching 

A Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver extension school

Arusha, TZ

Sierra Leone baptisms and more

ACTIVITY OPERATION REPORT FOR FEBRUARY, 2022

Full Time and the Extended Programs

 INTRODUCTION

We bring you brotherly greetings from the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute, Sierra Leone. We are grateful to God for another opportunity to share our report with you, our esteemed and dearly beloved brethren. We are hopeful that you are doing well and may this report find you flourishing in the Lord. As we continue to be engaged in working for the Master, the month of February was a favorable one to us, for the Lord enabled us to carry out the following activities: Conversion of souls, restoration of some erring brethren, the continuation of academics, and the acquisition of some needful items. Please read further for the details. 

WEEKEND EVANGELISM AND CONVERSION OF SOULS

The Lord crowned our combined efforts (staff and students actively taking part in the evangelism exercise) in the past month of February 2022 so that we had 10 conversions and 12 restorations, both in and out of Kenema. The director and the Dean of Students journeyed to three Alumni and restored five brethren and converted five souls. We solicit your prayers as you have always done for those brethren. 

CONTINUATION OF ACADEMICS

We are glad to inform you that our two programs (Full time and Extended) are going well. As we informed you in our last January report, we have 36 students altogether: 20 in the full-time program and 16 in the extended program. The students are glad to be part of the Bear Valley experience. We praise God for His love for us all and for extending His goodness to us here in Sierra Leone. 

ACQUISITION OF STUDENT ITEMS

Some months ago, when we had the dire desire to commence our extended program, we shared our desire with Bear Valley through our God-loving coordinator, Brother Steve Ashcraft. There was a need for two canopies, chairs, tables, a whiteboard and stand, and Bibles (including full-time students). We want to happily inform you, our donors and supporters, that we have acquired all of them and they are so helpful. The students are happy and are learning and taking their classes happily.

APPRECIATION

We are grateful to God for His providence as men and women continue to be trained to rightly divide the word of truth and to bring many to Christ. We secondly appreciate you, our supporters, our coordinator, Steven Ashcraft, our African Director of International Studies, beloved brother Keith, our assistant regional coordinator, beloved Robert Dahn, and our brethren who are praying for us at all times. May God reward you favorably for all your kindness toward us. 

OUR CHALLENGES

A.   Islamic Influence: As it is a known fact that Sierra Leone as a country is about 80% Islamic. It is a great challenge to evangelize in such a country. Islam has spread to almost every remote village in Sierra Leone and some of those Muslims are so fanatical religiously. Therefore brethren, please continue to pray for us as we do our best to preach this Gospel in this Islam-dominated country. 

B.   Transportation: We are facing a very serious challenge with transportation especially when we want to go for campaigns. Sometimes to get a bus that conveys all our students to our destinations can be very difficult as some drivers here prefer to go where the road is fine and smoother. Sometimes, we arrive at our places of campaigns late at night because we do not get the bus on time. Again, some drivers run beyond the limit and when you caution them, they will tell you in our vernacular language that, “Padi, ar want go drop wuna quick make ar go look for other passengers,” which literally means, “My friend, I want to drive you quickly to your destination so that I can go in search of other passengers,” and as many accidents happen on our roads here, this is very risky. But if we had our own bus, we could tell our driver to drive with caution; we could go to any destination we want especially where there is a need for many to hear the Gospel and be saved. The transportation cost is as well so high and mostly we have been managing the resources to embark on the campaigns. 

C.   Library:  The lack of a library has been a great challenge to our students also as 99% of our students do not have access to browsing phones where they could go online to search for materials. Sometimes instructors find it difficult to give some assignments to the students because there is no library where they could be referred to so they could go and read. Since one of the objectives of our Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute is to offer to our students scholarly materials in order to break the barrier of ignorance and to equip them to also teach others, there is a need for us to get a well-equipped library. 

CONCLUSION

Brethren, we remain appreciative to you. Thank you for loving the Lord. Thank you for your kindness. The lives you are changing in Sierra Leone here through your prayers, financial support, guidance, and direction, are all duly acknowledged, and may the Lord bless you richly.

Zimbabwe school busy with teaching and vocational training

MARCH 2022 NARRATIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

Training, equipping and moulding of would be preachers takes a lot of effort. It is like building a house where one brick is laid on top of another till the superstructure is complete. BVBIZ continues to take these stages seriously. At the end of each month, we look back and thank God for the progress that would have made in terms of the building blocks. This report is a capsule of the effort BVBIZ is putting in making a difference in the church and in the lives of individuals and families. Together with you, so much more can be done. 

1.0 TERM ENDS

Another term came to an end on the 31st of March. Great appreciation to both the teachers and students for the effort they put in to make the term a success. The following subjects were taught successfully in the term (December-March); African Traditional Religion, Romans, Church Growth, Advanced Hermeneutics, Major Prophets, Greek, Hebrews, Biblical Counseling (including HIV & Covid Care & Counseling), Sign Language, Pastoral Epistles and James. For the month of March we give a special report on the following;

1.1 Discipleship

Discipleship making is a major issue in the Church Growth class. BVBIZ was pleased to have brother Auswich Mashaba of the Gospel Chariot Mission from the 2nd-6th of March who to teach and fine-tune the students in this area. A good job was done and students were left at another level.  The program was opened to nearby preachers as well. 

1.2 Donnie Estep Visit

The school was blessed to have Donnie Estep from the 6th to the 12th of March. He taught the book of Romans.  He went beyond the school’s expectation in imparting knowledge to the students. The school remains grateful for his visit. His visits and lessons are always a blessing to both the students and teachers. 

2.0 UPDATE ON THE PARALLEL PROGRAM

Students who started their parallel program in September 2021 have completed their first semester subjects as well. Their next semester began on the 20th of March. The following subjects were done and completed in the first semester; How We Got the Bible, Personal Evangelism 1 & 2, Denominational Doctrines, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, Public Speaking, New Testament Church, Galatians, Scheme of Redemption and Life of Christ (in progress). Besides weekend and online classes, the class will be in Gweru from the 14th to the 23rd of April for a block as they do during every school break.. 

The September 2018 class which is due to graduate this year on the 29th of October is going on supervised attachment program on the 1st of April. These students are going to be attached as follows;

Tonderai Kafile                  Chiware Church of Christ                   Rusape

Isaac Chipendo                  Ziko Church of Christ                         Seke

Simbarashe Chitanda         Hatcliff Church of Christ                    Harare

Method Moyo                    Highfield Church of Christ                 Harare

Kudakwashe Simemeza     Highfield Church of Christ                 Harare

Charles Mugadza               Chitungiza Church of Christ               Chitungiwza

Tawanda Tinofa                 Chitungwiza Church of Christ            Chitungwiza

Edson Julius                       Chivero Church of Christ                    Mhondoro

3.0 NEXT TERM CURRICULUM

A new term is set to begin on the 1st of April. The following subjects are going to be taught; Minor Prophets, Geography of the Bible, Revelation, Elementary Hebrew, Christian Evaluation of Contemporary Ethics, The Preacher’s Life and Work, Foundation of Missions, Great Bible Doctrines, Church Administration and Governance and Chaplaincy Studies (seminar). Survival skills will continue to be taught as the term progresses. 

Those on the parallel (extension) program will be doing the following subjects in the next six months (minimum); Acts of the Apostles, Hermeneutics I, Romans, Homiletics, The Pentateuch, OT History (Joshua-Esther), Godhead, Entrepreneurship Skills Development 1 and Sign Language. 

4.0 INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

In terms of infrastructure development, progress was registered in terms of the teacher’s house, a traffic circle and fowl runs.

4.1  TEACHER’S HOUSE

The teacher’s house has been partially completed. Since January 2022, the following has been done; Roof installation, beam filling and plastering (of inner wall), fixing of a rough floor, electrical tubing and wiring, inserting of window frames and doors, plumping, rhino set skimming, fixing of 2 exterior metal doors and digging of a septic tank.

The following are the outstanding issues;, glazing, fixing of interior doors (5 are already available), construction of the septic tank, installation of a solar system. The priority is on the septic tank and solar system. The structure can be occupied when these two have been fixed whilst other issues will be dealt with later as we progress. 

4.2 TRAFFIC CIRCLE

Taking advantage of the presence of builders who were working on the teacher’s house, a traffic circle was partially constructed using stones. This is part and parcel of the landscaping agenda using locally available materials. The circle is intended to enhance the outlook of the site.

4.3 FOWL RUNS

Two fowl runs which were constructed by the students, being led by their instructor, Ishmael Mutichu, had been left uncompleted since last year. The structures were plastered and roofed by the builders. This means that we now have 5 good fowl runs (of which one is currently being used to house goats). These can house an average of 1000 broilers put together. 

5.0 PROJECTS

BVBIZ is on a drive to have viable projects. The following are the objectives which BVBIZ is pursuing to achieve;

• To provide more revenue for the school and ultimately leading to its development.

• To equip students and ultimately the community with life survival skills 

• To instill an attitude of self-reliance and unyoke the yoke of dependence within students that seemingly remains the major enemy towards development.

• To equip those who graduate with technical skills so as to further help and teach the congregants the same survival skills.

• To help BVBI-Z produce some food locally thereby reducing costs associated with food for students

5.1 BROILER PROJECT

The broiler project continues to move on well. Students who have been keeping the broilers on a rotational basis have continued to increase their skills in this area. From January till March, a profit of $832.12 was made from the project.  After successfully taking care of the broilers, students treated themselves to some braai (barbeque). 

5.2 LAYERS PROJECT

One project that has been on the school’s radar for a long time is the Layer’s project. The Finance and Sustainability committee within the Board of Trustees has come up with a plan of mobilizing funds towards this project. Their target is to have a minimum of 300 birds with each bird costing an average of $10 at point of lay.

6.0 EVANGELISM

Evangelism slowly picked up in the month of March. The following congregations were serviced by students in the month; Lincoln (formerly Lot 64), Plasworth, Redcliff, Julena and Kwekwe. Great appreciation to the congregations at Lincoln, Julena, Plasworth and Kwekwe for providing accommodation and food to our students whenever they go for weekend evangelism (Friday-Sunday). . 

CONCLUSION

At the end of each month, we look back and see the hand of God in the many and various activities at BVBIZ. Moral support from many far and wide has been awesome. To our sponsors and all donors, your work is greatly recognized. The Board of Trustees has been wonderful. Both teachers and students have been putting in their best. To God be the glory. 

Busy working in the kingdom in Tirupati

Reporting Letter for the month of March-2022

Greetings to you in the matchless name of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We pray that this reporting letter may finds you well.

Report:-

1.      Weather :-  The weather in India has turned hot as the summer season has started. We all enjoy the sun heat as it is the part of the season given by God according to Acts 14:17.  Please pray so that people may get enough water for drinking during this summer season.

2.      Class Room work (4th semester): In the month of March and April we are in the 4th semester. In the month of March we have completed the books  of Galatians, 1&2 Thessalonians and 1&2 Peter.

3.      Guest Teachers :-  We have invited guest teachers Mr. Philemon Rajah and Mr. Kingsly Rajah as guest teachers in the month of March. They taught personal evangelism .

4.      Audio Bibles  Distribution: in the month of March we distributed 27 audio bibles at Nellore city for the visually challenged people.

5.      Bible distributions: We distributed 30 bibles at Jangalapalli-Village.

6.      Out reach campaign : We had an outreach campaign on March 12th at Yerravaripallem-Village,  10 blind people were able to join with us for this campaign and did a wonderful job in song leading. This is 80 miles away from the BVBI-Tirupati, surrounded by hills and valleys .

7.      Leadership class : We invited untrained church leaders from nearby and conducted a one day leadership class on March 21, 2022.  We had 100 people in attendance for this meeting.

8.      Back to the Bible class: We conducted a back to the bible one day meeting on March 30th. We invited 35 leaders and all were present.

9.      Christian Growth Bible Seminar: On behalf of BVBI-Tirupati, three people participated in the Christian Growth Bible Seminar at Rajamandry town.  I presented a lecture on the church in the book of Acts. 

10.  Preaching at Funeral services : in the month of March we were able to attend two funeral services and preached the word of God.   We thank God for the power in the word of God which not only saves but also comforts by giving them hope of resurrection.

11.  Attending a wedding: in the month of March i was able to travel to Chennai and attend a wedding. One of the preachers in Chennai is known to me for several years. He invited me for his daughter’s marriage. We enjoyed participating in the wedding  event.

12.   BVBI-students constructed baptistery : In the month of March our BVBI-students constructed a baptistery. Prior to this, we were traveling to far away places to find the water for baptizing, and during the summer season it is so difficult to find the water. By the grace of God now in front of the BVBI we have constructed the baptistery. Our students and staff did hard work in constructing the baptistery.

13.  Baptism: There are some of the people who are close to the Lord’s kingdom, but one soul has been baptized in the month of March. Please pray for this new soul so that he may grow in the image of Jesus Christ.

14.  Children class:  We visit the Leper colony regularly . After school the children gather for learning bible stories  and practicing new songs. There is one teacher and helper who assists in this wonderful project.

15.  International Director Mr.Keith Kasarjian’s  Indian visit: We are highly delighted to meet Mr.Keith Kasarjian at Rajamandry. He presented a wonderful lecture at Rajamandry Christian Growth Bible Seminar. All the church leaders were very encouraged by his fellowship and preaching. We thank God for the great encouragement that we have received by his kind visit.

16.  Voice of truth International Magazine:-  We received the World Evangelism magazine and a few other pieces of literature, which we distributed.

17.  Prayer  request:- We have been regularly conducting Christian Growth Bible Seminars, back to the bible seminars, women seminars, and youth bible seminars. We are praying and planning to conduct an All India  Leadership Seminar .  We request you to pray for the success of the seminar. 

 We are thankful to you for all your cooperation and encouragement for the smooth function of BVBI-Tirupati-India. We express our gratitude and thanks to the elders of Bear Valley Church of Christ for their great love and compassion. The previous batch of students are in the battlefield to proclaim the good news for the lost souls in India.  We are thankful to our international director and coordinator for their great encouragement for this educational project to train up young people in India  who can teach others. We are in need of your continual prayers and encouragement. 

Thanking you.

Yours brother and sister in Christ.

Vijay Kumar

Leadership seminar and more in Nigeria

Beloved in Christ Jesus.
Greetings from fellow soldiers of Christ in Nigeria, most especially in BVBIN & SWSE, IBADAN located in Butubutu village via Badeku/Jago. Below is the report of some of our activities for the month of March 2022.

WEEKENDS EVANGELISM /OUTREACH:

Our students and staff continued in the evangelization of cities and villages in the Western States of Nigeria throughout the weekends in the month of March 2022.

Report reaching the school shows that the Lord added ten souls to His body and a family of five were restored in Ibadan. To God be the glory and honor.

2ND BATCH OF BVBIN- BACHELOR'S DEGREE PROGRAM CONTINUE :

The second batch of BVBIN-Bachelor's Degree program continue their classes between March 7th through 18th with Bro. Chad Wagner who taught the Greek Class and Bro. Isaac Olaniyan taught Advanced Hermeneutics-1 in the second week. Ten Students were in attendance in the first week and eight in the second week.

The next classes are scheduled to come up on April 1 through 11 with Bro. Ayobami Akanji handling Advanced Congregational Development-1 and I, Bro. Makinde Ebens handling Advanced Homiletics-1 Lord willing.

20TH ANNUAL LEADERSHIP SEMINAR 2022:

This year's Annual Leadership Seminar held in Doug Wheeler Events Center, Butubutu Village, Ibadan was attended by 147 brethren from 61 congregations within and outside the Western States of Nigeria from March 7th through 11th.

Brethren started coming into the school compound on Monday evening due to the theme of this year's Seminar that centered on Practical Christianity coupled with the fuel scarcity across the Country - Nigeria and as of Wednesday morning, over sixty brethren were already registered for the program.

Over 4,000 VOTI volume 112, about 2,000 copies of our local tracts, over 1,000 Introduction Courses and 9 boxes of Gospel literature from Mission Printing International were freely distributed to most of the congregations present.

Ministers of God within the Western States stormed the Doug Wheeler Events Center to solidarize with the BVBIN & SWSE IBADAN on the 20th Annual Leadership Seminar.

Amongst those present at the Leadership Seminar at Butubutu Village, Ibadan were the SWSE IBADAN director and BVBIN- International Director, Bro. Chad Wagner, The SWSE IBADAN board chairman, Bro. Ayobami Akanji (elder), Bro. Mfon Etim( Director- BVBIN- Ikorodu), Bro. Timothy Iwe( Director- BVBIN- Lagos Island), Bro. Victor Fasonu (Director of BVBIN- Ondo State) , Bro. Olorode Joachim (Representative of Director of BVBIN-Agege) and many others.

Also in attendance were some repented Anti-Bible institution brethren and two of the SWSE foundation members who are still alive, like Bro. Sunday Adekunle and Bro. Gabriel Akinyoola.

THIRD SEMESTER COURSES CONCLUDED:

With God on our side coupled with the mutual cooperation of my fellow instructors, we were able to conclude all courses, assignments, and tests for this semester.

Bro. Isaac Olaniyan handled Difficult passages of the New Testament, Life of Christ-3 (Luke), and the Book of Romans; Bro. Durojaiye Odeyemi handled The New Testament Church-2 (Worship); Bro. Makinde John handled 1&2 Peter & Jude and 1&2 Thessalonians; Bro. Kayode Eniafe handled Hebrews, Old Testament Prophets (Minor) and 2nd Corinthians; Bro. Adeolu Andrew handled 1 Corinthians, Biblical Eschatology, and Evangelism-3 (Strategy of Reaching out) while I handled OT Wisdom-2 (Psalm-SOS), Marriage & the home, Preacher's life & work, and Teach with Success.

The first-year students have embarked on a month of vocational training while the second-year students returned to their stations for practicum.

Fourth Semester Classes will commence Lord's willing on 2nd May through 24th June, 2022.

REPORT FROM WORLD BIBLE SCHOOL FOLLOW UP WORKERS:

1. Bro. Enefiok Archibong of Ikot Ekpene and Bro. M.B. Archibong of Uyo reported the conversions of two souls in each of their stations in this month of March.

2. Bro. Benson Balogun of Asejire and Bro. Olorode Samuel of Ajagba in Ondo State also reported the conversion of a soul each in their area of work.

3. Bro. Kayode Eniafe and Bro. Dele Shotola reported that over 500 introduction lessons were distributed in five Junior and Senior Colleges in Oyo and Osun States and about 350 copies of the lessons have been collected back from the students.

4. Bro. Matthew Rowland of Akure in Ondo State visited seven schools in the month of March and shared 1,000 introduction lessons and 500 have been returned so far for the next posting to the WBSTC, California, USA .

5. Bro. Obey Rimaskwe of Kapakya town in Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State reported the extension of his work to villages along the Nigeria/Cameroon border.

6. Bro. Andrew Adeolu of Ajia town in Ibadan, Oyo State reported that he now embarks on bus evangelism on every Monday and Wednesday of the week in addition to market day evangelism/campaign.

7. Bro. Akilapa Samuel of Odo- Sida in Ondo town and Bro. Godwin Johnson of Ode-Aye near Okitipupa in Ondo State reported the restoration of two couples each as a result of their constant visits to the lukewarm and erring brethren in their area of work in this quarter of the year 2022.

ACCOMPLISHMENT:

With the Lord's help coupled with the financial support from Austin Chapel COC and Nigerian brethren, we were able to successfully host this year Annual Leadership Seminar which is the 20th of it kind at Butubutu Village in Ibadan from March 9-11, 2022. All participants went home satisfactorily and with gladness for being well-fed both spiritually and physically.

PLANTING OF THE LORD'S CHURCH IN IBEJU LEKKI L.G.A OF LAGOS STATE :

In collaboration with the Lord's Church in Mile-12, Lagos State, ten Students and staff of BVBIN & SWSE- IBADAN will be participating in a 3-day evangelism/outreach at Elepete Village in Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area from April 7 to 9 with the intention of planting the Lord's Church in that area of Lagos State on 10th of April, 2022 in a plot of land donated by a member of Mile-12 congregation, Lagos .

The four-day exercise will cost us between N140,000 to N150,000 for feedings and hiring a big bus for the four days trip. The Church in Mile-12 Lagos will be responsible for our accommodation.

STUDENT PROFILE:

Bro. Olayemi Hope Idiyeli is one of our year-1- Students. He was admitted into our ministerial department in the year 2020. A native of Iggara in Edo State. Born in 1992 to the family of Mr. & Mrs. Idiyeli, he was baptized into Christ and added to the Lord's Church in the year 2010. His mission is to acquire more knowledge of the Scriptures that will qualify him as an effective minister of God and a Bible husband.

Wonderful news of conversions and construction in Malawi

Bear Valley Bible Institute

Ekwendeni – Malawi

Introduction

Hello! We are happy to be back in class after a long holiday. We extended our holiday by a month due to the late coming of the rains; for which we don’t blame God as everything is under His control. We have a saying “What comes from above has no case to answer”. We reopened on the 7th of March, 2022 and we received good news from our students that happened during their holiday. We are also glad to share this in this report. We were also blessed to have Donnie come for the short course in the second week of March. He taught the epistle to the Hebrews. After his class on Hebrews, Donnie, the teachers, and all the students went to see the construction of the hostel progress where the students were amazed and suggested they be allocated there but the challenge is that there are no toilets yet, and the kitchen and shower rooms are not constructed yet. It is all exciting! God has been faithful to us!

Preaching and teaching

Our students are coming from 10 districts in 3 major regions of Malawi, Northern, Central and Southern regions respectively. This shows that the good news about the Bear valley school is known all over Malawi. The preaching work report from our students during holiday time has been outstanding and wonderful. It has been reported that there have been 44 baptisms during the holiday, 145 restorations, and also 50 World Bible School students enrolled with Brother Thomas who is one of our current students. Brother Thomas is one of the World Bible School helpers. This is exciting news to see and hear souls being added to the church every time.  Let us join hands praying for the saved souls to grow in Spirit and in the knowledge of the word of Christ.

Teaching work is in progress. The first week of March 7-11, Brother Clergynton taught the Marriage and Family course, and the second week it was Brother Donnie with the Hebrews epistle. We have really started well.

Construction

As we are looking towards the completion of the hostel block construction work finished, we still have a long way to go before we shift to our new place this year. We have to build toilets, kitchen and shower rooms, of which we hope God will help us get them done. We still ask your prayers for this work, renting has been expensive and especially this time of the year when everything is skyrocketing daily.

Gospel campaigns

We are thankful to many congregations and preachers from the villages asking the school to help in preaching campaigns. We are looking forward to getting back in the field to help souls come to Christ. Prayers are needed so that God opens doors for this work.

All in all, we are thankful to Bear Valley International for the monthly support and many prayers. We are also thankful to Brother Tim and John and the whole congregation for partnering with Bear Valley International to help in the construction of the hostel block. We don’t take this for granted, you are such a blessing to us. We always pray for you and your families knowing for sure that this work still needs your involvement. Eternity Is Forever, Think Souls!

In His VineYard,

Ephron and Clergynton.

Evangelistic campaign in Koforidua, Ghana

KOFORIDUA

FOURTH QUARTER REPORT (OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, 2021)

We need to be very grateful to the Almighty Father for seeing us through another quarter and have also ushered us into the new year 2022. May He continue to bless us with all the blessings.

CLASSES

We did all courses in this quarter. Brother Paul Larbi Young taught Counseling and First Corinthians. Brother Michael Frimpong, one of our students taught Research Method. All the students were present during the class except one brother who fell sick and couldn’t participate in the class. His name is Ahiaba Agbenyagah Yaw. We pray the Lord will heal him soon.

STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES

There are local churches around the school. Our students have been very helpful to these localities. They have been assigned to visit and strengthen them every week. Each student has been required to submit a report on the service they offer to the brethren.

PUBLIC PREACHING – Evangelism Work

From October 26th to 30th, we organized public preaching evangelism.  This was done in one of the localities where our students have been visiting. All the speakers for the campaign were our students. We had two (2) baptisms after the campaign. We also pray that what we have sown will fall in good hearts for it to germinate in the near future.

STUDENT PROFILE

We introduce to you our brother Edward Amoako. He is a man of 39 years of age. He is married to a good Christian woman by the name Sandra Sakyiwaa and is blessed with three (3) children. Edward has been profitable to the church in teaching, preaching, and other church activities. He has also recommended the school for its tuition on the doctrine of Christ which is helping the sustainability of the truth. His prayer is that may the Lord keep blessing the school through its effective services in the Koforidua township.

May God bless us all.

Tamale school has many irons in the fire

OPERATING REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2022

Once again, the Lord who has the power over grace has shown His grace to us here in Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies in the month of February 2022. We acknowledge that not all mankind has had these special blessings of peace, unity, mercy and all the providential things we enjoy as His people here in Bear Valley, Tamale. We glorify His name unconditionally. Many activities have also taken place in the month of February that we need to report to you.

ACADEMIC WORK

The month of February was effectively utilized for academic activities. Students were on campus and a series of courses were taught through almost the whole month. Between the first and the 25th of February, all attention was on full academic activities. Courses taught were: Pastoral Epistles by James Legend, Denominational Doctrine by Daniel Adjei Mensah, 1&2 Peter by Thomas Donzie and Research and Writing by James Legend respectively.

KPALSI SOUTH CONGREGATION

The church out of its giving has made burglar proofs for the windows of the chapel which we are working on. We have also arranged to have a mason in the month of March to come fix the burglar proofs and work on the inside ground floor plastering work.

We are hoping to start worshipping in the chapel while we work on it in the month of April. Our major challenge now is the doors and the outside plastering work. We pray and hope the Lord makes a way for us to get this also done. For the inside plastering and the windows and the other finishing work, we can take our time and do them. The doors have become one of the big challenges because, almost every night, we must go chase people away from smoking inside the chapel. We are hopeful the Lord will see us through.

 IRRIGATION

The aim of the great support Healing Hands International has given us in the area of water can’t be forgotten. Indeed, the water has benefitted the school greatly and given us a double assurance in the area of water supply. It has also served the community very well. We believe it’s a tool of showing Christ to the people. One of the roles of this water also is to serve us in the area of irrigation. Because of the weather condition in Northern Ghana in the dry season as reported in earlier reports, it has made it difficult for us to do irrigation in the past two years since this well was drilled for us and its subsequent being mechanized.

We have been looking for ways to make this irrigation work become a reality to help cut down some of the expenses of feeding the students. In January of this year, we gave it a hard try in a small way, and it seems to be working successfully. Currently, though not much, we are harvesting some okro, Ayooyo (local vegetables) and cucumbers.  We have sowed some maize and watermelons that are doing very well. We are therefore confident now and are trying to seek help to set up a good irrigation system.

PERSONALITY PROFILE

Brother Snell Kwasi Owusu Odame is the man we profiled for the month of February 2022. Odame is one of the grown and matured students of the 2021/22 batch of students. Owusu Odame was born on the 4th of July 1976 in Accra, Maprobi in Dansoman area. Mr. Odame is married to sister Evelyn Owusu Odame with four children.

Brother Owusu Odame did his basic education in Accra, Dansoman at St. Anthony Basic school. He proceeded to do his secondary education in the Central Region at Fijai secondary school. He continued from there to the Takoradi Technical Institute where he studied electrical installation and came out with an intermediate certificate. He also did his tertiary education at the Takoradi Poly where he graduated with Electrical Engineering Technician 1 and 2. He proceeded with the Technician 1 & 2 certificates to work a bit and came back to the same institution to complete the Technician 3 certificate.  

Brother Odame has some great working experiences. He has worked with the West Africa Woods Industry as an administrator between the years 2002 and 2005. He has also worked with a multimedia group, specifically, Love FM in Kumasi between 2005 and 2007. He also worked with the Electricity Company of Ghana in the period of 2008 to 2018.

Mr. Odame was baptized into the church in the year 2000 by one brother Kingsley Edu in Kumasi, precisely, the Bomso Church.

He is currently offering the Diploma Course with the Bear Valley Tamale campus, hoping to work fully for the Lord.

Glory be to our God. Amen.

Bear Valley, Tamale.

Graduation Ceremony in Takoradi, Ghana

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY, 2022

1.     CLASSROOM WORK

Academic work continued for the month of February. During the two days leading to graduation, the graduates defended their project work before the instructors.

2.     PERSONAL EVANGELISM AND BAPTISM

So long as the world continues to exist and sin is still prevalent in it, the mission of the church is still ongoing in the area of evangelism. Students and people affiliated to the school continued preaching the good news in the month of February. God also continues to bless our effort.

3.    16th Graduation Ceremony

Preparation towards the graduation went on throughout the month. Fasting and prayers was organized on the Wednesday leading to the ceremony. It was attended by instructors, present students and some sections of graduates. The day of the graduation was finally upon us on 26th February, everything was set for the occasion. The Lord blessed us with very good weather and the program was well attended. This is the greatest number we have had for a graduation so far. People were very happy for the tremendous change that has taken place in the school. Overall, it was a very successful program as we ushered these men into the Lord’s vineyard, and it was our wish that you were here.

Thank you,

Joshua 

Radio program is reaching souls in Liberia

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE-LIBERIA

Tokay hill community, Ganta City

Nimba county, Republic of Liberia

OPERATIONS REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2022

PROLOGUE / INTRODUCTION

We bring you greetings from Liberia Bear Valley Bible Institute, west Africa. We appreciate God continually for your partnership with us in this work of our Lord directly or indirectly in Liberia.

ANOTHER GIFT FROM A CHURCH SISTER

In their own little ways, some sisters from the Ganta Church continued to assist our students with some of their basic daily needs as they studied. As you may recall, before the Christmas vacation some sisters donated two bags of used clothes to the students. In the month of February, another sister called Herritta Nehywon came with washing soap for all the students individually. She said that she feels so happy in her own little strength to help the students with the soap because they need it, since their studies keep them on the campus even during the weekends. They still have to go out helping to strengthen smaller congregations in the villages. She further said, the future of these students’ education in the Bible will help the world to be a better place. The students thanked her so much and prayed with her for God’s blessing upon she and her family.

BACK TO THE BIBLE RADIO TEACHING PROGRAM AND THE BEAR VALLEY STUDENTS

Five years ago on the 1st of January 2017, I started the teaching program on the radio as another way of exposing the Lord's church and have more people listen to the undiluted gospel of Christ and His church. Since the inception of this program, many souls have been won to Christ and many new congregations have been started through this efforts.

Another very important part of this radio program is to have our students from the Bear Valley Bible Institute here in Liberia practice public speaking on the radio. The students are taking turns on the radio after preparing a special topic given to them some months before. This practice started with our very first batch of students and the results are to the glory of God and to the edifying of His church. Almost 12 of our past students are now preaching and teaching on the radio at their different locations (Congregations) and the news coming from there by other people make us so happy for the opportunities afforded them to practice while in school.

STAFF MEETING

In the month under review, we held a staff meeting on the school campus. This meeting brought together all the teaching staff and support staff of the school. On our agenda, the following were key in our discussion:

1. Thanking God and welcoming everyone to the new year

   a. Under this, we appreciated our teachers and staff commitment to serve the students and help them become better preachers and church worker for our maker.

2. Reviewing Bear Valley needed standard for her schools

3. We discussed making a cassava farm for the school to help us provide some food in addition to the help Bear Valley is giving to us.

4. We also discussed ways we can help our past students with evangelism to strengthen the work they are doing in their town and villages.

5. We concluded our meeting with a prayer for you all that are sponsoring these efforts in Liberia and across the world.

SHORT COURSE TEACHER

Brother Calvin Jusu Johnson has always responded to our call to come and offer his services to the school. This is his third time honoring our invitation to teach a short for us. We are thankful for his services and want you to please join us to pray for him.

REPORT ABOUT OUR ALUMNI

Alex Gonlarkpo Waie was part of our first batch of students who graduated in 2018 and went back home and started a new congregation. We visited Alex and saw the work he is doing and it moved us so much because he struggled in school. Alex presently preaches in his hometown at a congregation he started and he is also helping two other congregations that do not have a trained preacher. Meanwhile, Brother Alex has a very serious problem in easily reaching these struggling congregations and is asking for help. Having visited him and seen the good work he is doing, we want to join him to request for his need. Bro. Alex is humbly asking for a motorbike to help his movements between these three congregations.

CONCLUSION AND APPRECIATION

We want to thank all of you so much for supporting the work in Liberia. Without you, this effort would not be possible. May God richly bless you.

We also want to take this time to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of our brothers and sisters across the world for all your financial and spiritual support for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has dislocated our brethren literally and has brought more sorrow on their land. Many of our Christian brothers and sisters have lost their homes, their jobs and left them hungry. I am so thankful for all your love you have shown them in this hard times. Let us all continue to pray for peace for them, Please!!

In Him,

Robert P. Dahn, Jr.

Director- BVBI-L

Evangelism Outreach in Nyanya, Nigeria

The Evangelism programme at Gbessa was a huge success.

On the first day, which was Friday 11th March 2022, brethren/some students of BVBI Nyanya campus participated in the exercise. Two people were baptized in the process. The day ended with open air preaching by the preacher of Dei-Dei congregation, brother Isaac Makwagh, spoke on the topic, "God's Plan of Salvation."

The next day, Saturday 12th March 2022, there was a larger turnout of both students and brethren from various congregations within Abuja and the surrounding area. Brother Felix Ekpeyong expounded on the topic "The New Testament Church," during the open air preaching.

On Sunday, the inaugural worship of the new congregation was held with 48 persons in attendance. Students of BVBI Kado centre were also in attendance.

May I appeal to the leadership of BVBI to support the new congregation by sending students there to assist the congregation on Sundays.

Thank you and God bless,

Samson

Goals are being reached in Togo

February 2022 Report

 May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be granted to you as long as heaven and earth exist. Everything is going well under his divine power, because the students, the teachers as well as the churches are all doing wonderfully. We have succeeded in restoring an assembly in AVEHO-Tougbli, this assembly that was led by evangelist HANYEBOE CLEMENT since 2015. Brother Clement had suffered a lot of eye problems of which he was finally able to have surgery and now he sees well and works properly. Let us pray for the churches planted by the work of the school in Kpalime.

Evangelism:

Thanks to God, the activities of the students helped by the former students continue every Friday. This is what caused the restoration in this month of February of the church in Aveho-Tougbli with 11 members in the locality and a study with religious group in TSABOM and YOH to support this assembly which grows with difficulty in the middle of the Protestant denominations of the locality.

An evangelism program is planned in KPEGLONOU from March 23, 24 and 25, 2022 in order to plant a new church.

Challenges:  

1. Plant or Restore one church per month.

2. Every town or village in the region should be evangelized.

3. Each evangelist (37) must preach in a church and no longer be multiple evangelists in one congregation

4. Each student must have a plan to work (location or church available) before in December 2022.

5. To put a system in place that can encourage new church students to be more dynamic in serving the Lord.

6. Multiply the places of the Saturday courses by all in Togo.

7. The evangelism organization team is hard at work to restart the public evangelism campaigns (some barrier restrictions are removed).

 Baptisms:

The results at the end of February were encouraging: 9 baptisms as a result of the students' outings for evangelism and church planting. In AVEHO-TOUGBLI we postponed two for an evening because of the distance to travel to do the baptism. They were two women who wanted to receive their baptisms at all costs on the evening of Friday, February 25, and their parents did not want them to be moved far from them. In a short time it will rain and they will receive their baptisms.

 Seminar: Efficiency in the workplace

It has been noticed that the former evangelists need to be revitalized and retrained in the service of worship, evangelism, teaching or Bible study for a very good performance wherever they have the opportunity to intervene. It is a challenge that BVBI Togo gives itself as a complementary work because there are other Bible schools in Togo, so we make a difference by our work. This difference must be noticed in all aspects (fields) that the school intervenes. Churches of Christ from all over French-speaking Africa want to send their candidates to Bear Valley Institute Togo for Bible training because of the work that is done by the school.

 BVBI: courses of the quarter:

1- History of the Church: Cephas

2- Doctrine of Denominations: Cephas

3- Jeremiah and Lamentations: Rodrigue

4- 1 Samuel to 2 Kings: AKALO Komlan

5- Proverbs to Songs of Songs: AKLI

6- Isaiah: ATTAH

7- Logic: ATTAH

8- Homiletics II. AKOVI Esperance

 About the courses :

The students of the Saturday courses in the 4 localities continue as usual. Only some of them like Kpele-Beme the classes are held twice a week (Thursday and Sunday evening). There were some students of the correspondence courses who requested the Saturday school in DANYI located between the mountain ranges. There is a church of Christ in AHLON TINIPE directed by the student KPODO Koffi.

 Covid 19:

There is good news about the distancing measures: churches are allowed to meet wearing masks. So this year evangelization campaigns can take place under the permission of the competent authorities.

Evangelism in Abuja

Bear Valley Bible Institute Abuja, Nyanya Center evangelism campaign at Auta Balefi, Nasarawa State. Activities are, house-to-house; open-air campaign and worship service.

The students were joined by brethren at Auta Balefi in worship (where we officiated in all items of worship), after which there was house-to-house preaching (which ended by 2:pm), while we staged an open air preaching afterwards.

No baptisms were recorded at this time, but the gospel was preached.

Year 1 finished in Uganda

Greetings brothers.

It is always my joy to say hello to you in the name of our dear lord Jesus Christ from whom all joy and peace originate. We greatly thank God for the peace is somehow restored compared to the corona situation we were in here in Uganda . Thank you God for seeing us through. The church can now run her activities without any hindrance.

And so the school is also doing well since we are now able to move around our communities spreading the life saving message to them. I am here to report to you that we closed for the fourth quarter of year one. The school had all the peace, students studying very well. Although we have been going under some challenges ranging from shortage of water, power cut off and sicknesses among students.

Another serious challenge, is the raise prices in fuel, it has changed everything to the point that the prices of each and everything is like now sold double the price it was some time back. So we are buying commodities expensively. Things are shooting up. We need God to intervene.

But all in all God was so good to us and we were able to break off on 11 march and expecting them back on 25th this month for the fifth quarter which is quarter one of year two. Pray for their safety at home and praying for their reporting back to school.

Pray for Uganda, pray for our brothers and sisters in the Congo who are in war many of whom are living as refugees in Uganda now. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine that God may see them through and peace prevails.

Thank you so much for the support of us and the school to run smoothly.

Until have heard,

Raymond

More progress in Accra

Accra Report, February 2022

Glory be to God for the end of the month of February 2022. We thank him for His marvelous care throughout this month. Glory be to Him.

Steven’s Arrival

We give praise to God that our brother Steven arrived safely in Ghana. We appreciated his presence. We had lots of discussions and the entire staff that yielded progress for the school.

To begin with, we have a class of 12 students presently taking the diploma course. This marks the Fifth (5th) batch since the school commenced its academic studies.

Classes

Classes are ongoing with the full number of students present. This month, all the instructors have not completed yet and teaching is ongoing. All students and instructors are doing well and very effectively in their assigned responsibilities.

Practical Activities

As assigned to each student, everyone attends to their various designated area for their practicals.

School Building Project

 Hopefully, the project is ongoing. Currently, part of the floor has been cast for block laying.

 Land and School Registration

These registrations are in progress. The necessary documentation has been put in place for the finality of the registration.

New School Updates

As part of the purpose of Steven’s services, he visited all the schools, especially those that have been established. He made these trips with Kojo and attended the graduation in Takroadi with the students from Doboro. Currently, four (4) new schools (Cape Coast, Accra East, Kasoa 2, Nsawam 2) have been established and classes are ongoing.

Funds for Start-up

All funds for the start-up schools were received. Funds for purchasing the Bibles. All the items needed have been bought and distributed to various schools together with the start-up funds.

Accident on Accra School Bus

Unfortunately, the school bus for the Accra school has had an accident. We will always give praise to the almighty God for His protection that the Driver (student) was not hurt and no cut found on him. Looking at the condition of the bus and the boy’s escape from injury tells us that it’s good to rely on God. We thank God for His love.

Borehole Pump

We thank God for another offer for the building of a borehole pump at the school building site. The pump has been fixed successfully and water is flowing.

Our appreciation

Glory be to God. We admire the wonderful support and donations. We appreciate the presence of our brother Steven, brother Mark, Keith, and all the supporting team and the churches. We thank our sister who has donated funds for the purchasing of Bibles, construction of the borehole pump, the Ghanaian churches who are also helping in diverse ways, and all the Bear Valley Instructors.

We say God bless you all for the wonderful works.

Alumni news from Zambia

Introduction

We have watched the movie called the "passion of Christ" it is a very powerful movie about the last 12 hours of Jesus' ministry here on earth. Its very graphic but lets you see how much Jesus suffered for us, and now what has remains is “the passion of Christians”. We at BVBI-Zambia believe and ask how are we going to conduct ourselves in light of His glorious love and His immeasurable sacrifice?

The month of February, 2022 continued to be very fruitful in evangelism and other programs of the school. Teaching and preaching Christ to others has indeed made a tremendous impact upon our lives and those around us.

Back in class

All the students have reported back for their final year. The classes are in full swing.  They started this year’s school calendar with a short course on “Marriage and Family Life” taught by Kennedy Mukuka.  They are now learning five regular courses. These courses are:  Church History, Old Testament IIIb and Elementary Greek being taught by Cephas Mwamba. And they are also taking “Life of Christ III and Inter Testament History” being taught by Fred Kanangu.

Two souls saved

Donald Chimbin and his wife prudence Chimbini were added to the Lords church on 18th February 2022 this happened on Friday. We continue to pray that may these two souls walk with God till death.

And the following are the other vital statistics that were recorded during the month of February 2022.

I.               Major Activities

A.    Evangelism

1.    Indeed as we discover Paul emphasizes in Ephesians 4 the absolutely vital role that is played by apostles, prophets, evangelists shepherd and teachers. Without their ongoing preparation of the Lord’s people there would be very few God’s people. BVBI-Zambia has produced other good teachers, we so glad to report about Vincent Kawala who has been given opportunity to serve in the church and now teaching others; Scheme of Redemption, Homiletics, Christian Evidences and mission in the southern part of Zambia. It is refreshing to us as well as to you brothers and sisters as we share same mind of Master Jesus. In the picture attached you will see Vincent teaching.

2.    We would love to share also Clive Kabika in the rural outset of Kabwe central province another vibrant preacher doing a great job and he needs all our support in this area, in the picture you will see Clive preaching in homes and fields wherever he meet people, five souls has been added to the Lord’s Church in the month of February as the result of him preaching.

3.    We have continued to work closely with Nicholus Mulubwa and has done a great Job before resuming classes in February, we have recorded 17 baptisms from Luapula Province of Zambia. We have also recorded 15 people who have been restored back to the Lord. This happened when he preached in five congregations in two districts. He is very confident that the work in his area is indeed prospering.

4.    We have Daniel Kapata who is very evangelistic and this time lead men in the congregation in making pews for the Church in the picture attached you will see Daniel spearheading the work, and during the visitation program, Daniel has managed to restore seven men and two women Daniels’ work is highly recommended by all of us. On the same development Gershom Chansa and Matthews Mwale before resuming classes in February combined forces in Luwingu district of Luapula Province of Zambia preached and converted nine souls and restored two. We have come to know that training is indeed essential if the church is to function as God’s wants it to: “for the equipping of the saints for the works of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.    Apart from teaching and preaching on Sundays they conduct bible studies on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They have also trained others to preach and teach during bible studies in their absence.

II.             Goals and activities for the upcoming month

i.               We are looking forward to seeing Brother Mark Reynolds and Bother Norman Light as they visit BVBI- Zambia very soon.  During their visit they will teach a short course on the Book of Romans. They are scheduled to arrive in Zambia on the 10th March, 2022. They are traveling to Zambia for their very first time. We cannot wait to meet these brothers.

ii.             We are also looking forward to having Brother Ebenezer Udofia to come and teach on poultry at the end of March, 2022. We are told that he is highly knowledgably about poultry and he is an expert in it. We cannot also wait to meet him and having him around.

iii.            We are focusing on meeting the youths on the Copperbelt and men’s meeting to be held in North-western province of Zambia. on this meeting men to sharpen each other for the service in the Lord’s church and BVBI-Zambia is invited.

III.            Statement on covid-19 in Zambia

After surviving the devastating impact of “omicron variant” Zambia continues to record low caseload and deaths of Covid 19.  There is still a threat of yet another unknown wave of this pandemic. And the song that the health authorities keep on singing is on preventive protocols of Covid 19. Very Few people in this nation have so far been vaccinated. Our prayer is that may our God continue to keep our nation safe and the rest of the world.

IV.           Reports from our alumni

Andrew Mwila graduated in 2017 here at BVBI-Zambia. After his graduation he did not go back to Mansa district of Luapula Province where he came from, but he opted to go and settle in Lusaka the capital city of Zambia. He has had rough time as far as preaching the word and maintaining his character as a preacher. He almost stopped preaching and concentrated on whatever he was doing. But for the past few months we have seen him rejuvenating for his desire to preach. He is now a regular preacher at one of the congregations in Kafue district of Lusaka Province. He and his wife are now building up well for the service of our master. We continue soliciting for your prayer for young men like Andrew. Because we know the potential that this young man has and the positive influence that he can bring to bear in his area.

Austin Musonda one of the best students who graduated in 2021 with a distinction is a dedicated servant in Baluba District. A team of leaders from his home congregation visited the Institute on 23rd February and we had a good refreshment in the Lord together, we have recorded thirteen souls who are added to the church at church in Baluba. Austin is now in his second year doing forestry at the government college here on the Copperbelt and has continued to be a faithful servant. When Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are special people he says “that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” when we speak the truth in love we grow up in all aspects into Him. 

Conclusion

Indeed Calvary has showed us in no uncertain terms that Christ is the master and His sacrificial love demands that we go do likewise. Take up your cross and follow Him. We are eternally grateful for the partnership that we have with you in the Lord and the financial support that we have continued to receive from Woodland Oaks Church of Christ. 

The way of the cross leads home! May God continue blessing you in all your endeavors!

In His Service,

Cephas and Fred

Chad Wagner visits Nigeria

Beloved in Christ Jesus.

We appreciate you all for your partnership and love.

Just to let you know that the 3 day Leadership Seminar was a great blessing to all of us present.

147 brethren accross the South Western States of Nigeria participate in this year Leadership Seminar of March 9-11,2022 with Brother Chad Wagner serving as our guest speaker.

Over 4,000 VOTI volume 112 , about 2,000 copies of our local tracts, 1,000 copies of WBS Introduction Courses and 9 carton of Mission Printing tracts/ booklets freely distributed to most of the congregations present.

Lord's willing, our 20th Annual Bible Lectureship & Graduation is coming up on 2nd week of August 2022.

Thanks again for your help and support.

We are very very greatful for your partnership and love.

Sincerely yours in His Grace as a servant,

Makinde Ebens

(The Chief Servant of BVBIN & SWSE, IBADAN and WBSFUW)

Classes resume in Fiji

It is a new school year.  The covid19 pandemic has left its mark on the Pacific Islands.  Many countries are still closed to international travel.  However, due to an ambitious push by the Fiji Government to get the population vaccinated the nation of Fiji has opened their borders to international travel.  Currently, it only requires a negative covid test and a 3 day quarantine.  

Higher institutions of learning have opened their doors to in class instruction. Students must maintain social distancing and wear masks during class.  The teacher is permitted to remove his mask while teaching.

Long story short, the Bible Institute at Raiwaqa was able to open its doors on time. Orientation began on February 21.  Classes started on the next day.  Jason’s class was the Major Prophets and Emosi taught the Gospel of Mark. 

Our Monday night program has been going on and they just finished up a class on the Gospel of John.  Emosi starts a new course tonight on Timothy and Titus.

Currently, I am still in the U.S. taking care of some medical issues.  I have another doctors appointment on today that should give me an idea of when I will be able to return to the field. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. 

Rocco Hugh Pierce

Director of the Bible Institute at Raiwaqa

Ladies Day in Wotutu

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this part of the globe. We do hope you are doing great and that God is actively doing great things in your life and in your ministry and family. God is faithful with us as well. Even though we are being pushed on every side, we are not yet crushed.

We are still very busy making sure that everything on our agenda is good. We are training men and their families, nurturing congregations, establishing congregations and also feeding orphans. I come to you with another exciting report of the work here. God is active in accomplishing His work here in Wotutu Cameroon.

We had a meeting with the instructors in the Bear Valley Bible Institute -Wotutu. It is great once in a while for us to come together and see how we can evaluate and reevaluate our work. We had a lot to talk about concerning sending out students for weekend evangelism and for their end of semester mission work week. We were also beginning to plan for the up-coming graduation ceremony which will be here this December 8.

The chief of Wotutu village visited the area of the Bear Valley Bible Institute -Wotutu and was impressed with what the church of Christ and the Bear valley Bible school are doing in this community. Keep the chief in your prayers as he is a friend to the church. We pray that one day he will become a member of the church for the glory of God.

Wotutu congregation organized a lady’s day. Hundreds of sisters made their way in Wotutu and it was a great time for the sisters to study and enjoy fellowship with one another, it was a moment of joy. The theme was, “SISTERS RESPONSIBILITY WITH ONE ANOTHER.” It was appealing to the sisters to take care, one for another.

APPRECIATIONS

Thank you very much for all you are doing for the Lord’s work here in Cameroon. God is seeing and will reward you in due season. Keep it up!

Elangwe and family

By the His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu